1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel (PDP) and a composition for preparing a barrier rib of a PDP. More particularly, the present invention relates to a plasma display panel in which little residual carbon and water remains in a phosphor layer after a firing process, and relates to a composition for preparing a barrier rib.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plasma display panel (PDP) is a flat display device using a plasma phenomenon, which is also called a gas discharge phenomenon, since a discharge is generated in the panel when a potential greater than a certain level is applied between two electrodes separated from each other under a gas atmosphere that is a non-vacuum state.
A plasma display panel is a flat display device that displays images by the use of the gas discharge phenomenon. Recently, a reflective AC driving panel has been generally used for the plasma display panel. A back substrate of the reflective AC driving panel is partitioned by barrier ribs to define discharge cells, and a phosphor layer is formed inside of each of the discharge cells. A front substrate (hereinafter, referred to as the second substrate) includes a display electrode and a dielectric layer covering the display electrode.
To form the phosphor layer in the plasma display panel, a printing process is generally used. A paste for printing the phosphor is mixed with a vehicle, which is a mixture of an organic binder resin and a solvent. The vehicle is to provide the phosphor paste with fluidity. The paste is applied into the discharge cell, and is subjected to a drying process and a firing process to remove the solvent and the organic binder. The organic binder, however, leaves residual carbon after the firing process, and the residual carbon and water remaining in the discharge cell deteriorate the phosphor layer.
Japanese Patent laid-open Publication No. 2004-186021 indicates that the brightness and efficiency of phosphors are deteriorated if the residual carbon is left in the discharge cell, and thereby the reliability including the lifespan of the phosphors is unfavorably affected.
Further, Japanese Patent laid-open Publication No. 2002-358892 discloses a method of applying an adsorbent that is capable of absorbing and decomposing a gas and an impurity produced around the inside of a frit of a gas exhauster or around inside of the frit of the plasma display panel. However, according to the Japanese patents, the impurity is absorbed from the exhausted gas only during the sealing process, so that the method disclosed in the Japanese Patent is insufficient for absorbing all the residual carbon or all the water remaining in the discharge cell.